Free AI training for all, as government and industry programme expands to provide 10 million workers with key AI skills by 2030
Every adult in the UK is eligible to take free, newly benchmarked courses to gain practical AI skills for work – as the joint government and industry programme sees a major expansion to upskill 10 million workers.- say's the UK Government in a new press release dated 28th January 2026.
It's foundation was setup by PHIL SMITH CBE of Skills England, the ex-ceo of Cisco Systems.
Who devised a "Ai Benchmark" that once complete when taken the courses, you can show to the employer, a UK employer only (as this doesn't exist anywhere else in the world) that you are confident in the use of Ai.
The benchmark can be found at these two links :
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-foundation-skills-for-work/ai-foundation-skills-for-work-benchmark
---------------------------------------------
- Courses that don't exist
- Courses that are labelled ‘no charge’, only to turn out to be paid
- Courses that are simply videos describing old tech that is no longer available
- A course that is just a link to one page of info about a Phd program at Queen Mary University
- A course about how to use the internet (no AI involved)
My research :
But how much of this is a.. scam ?
Lets find out how it's all funded and where it all leads, since the UK Government spent over £4 Million pounds on this website alone ! Upon a closer look at the UK government's new AI Skills Hub, it includes :
- Courses that don't exist
- Courses that are labelled ‘no charge’, only to turn out to be paid
- Courses that are simply videos describing old tech that is no longer available
- A course that is just a link to one page of info about a Phd program at Queen Mary University
- A course about how to use the internet (no AI involved)
- A (1hr) course that's run by a company (see Founderz below) outside the UK (in the EU) who are governed under the EU AI Act
- A course about personal branding for career success (no AI involved)
- A course about programming for agri-tech (no AI involved)
- A course that just explains Microsoft’s approach to responsible AI (is this an 'AI skill'?)
- Of course, an absolute ton of courses from Google, Microsoft etc. that are only useful if you *checks notes* > pay for their products <
- A surprising number of courses that cost hundreds of pounds to take, which is surprising given that the AI minister and Phil Smith CBE, described the Skills Hub as "free AI skills training"
- A course about personal branding for career success (no AI involved)
- A course about programming for agri-tech (no AI involved)
- A course that just explains Microsoft’s approach to responsible AI (is this an 'AI skill'?)
- Of course, an absolute ton of courses from Google, Microsoft etc. that are only useful if you *checks notes* > pay for their products <
- A surprising number of courses that cost hundreds of pounds to take, which is surprising given that the AI minister and Phil Smith CBE, described the Skills Hub as "free AI skills training"
----------------------------------------
Advertising Problems :
Ah yes, the use of the word - Founderz - the cool spelling to entice young people to take this not so free MS course for erm, Business Success.
Earn a Foundation AI Skills Boost badge!
Courses marked with a badge cover all six AI Foundation Skills for Work, giving you a solid base to build on as you become more confident in using AI. Whichever course you choose, you’ll gain practical skills to start using AI in your workplace in just a few hours. Start your AI learning journey today!
Remember... this is a fake training badge of employment/education from the UK Government.
Do I need prior technical experience to use the Ai Skills Hub ?
No! The AI Skills Hub is designed for professionals of all skill levels. Whether you’re a business owner, manager, or worker, we offer tailored resources to help you understand and apply AI in your field.
One of my favourite's is a the spelling error from the GOV and Microsoft, which is advertised on the website. Can you spot where it is yet in this screenshot ? taken from https://aiskillshub.org.uk/aiskillsboost/coursecatalogue/
Ah yes, the use of the word - Founderz - the cool spelling to entice young people to take this not so free MS course for erm, Business Success.
But - Who Are FOUNDERZ you may ask ? website : https://founderz.com/about-founderz/
it's a fake "ai business school" that runs, as you may have guessed, more Ai training courses which aren't free and that aren't supported by Microsoft ! It was founded during the pandemic in 2022 (just after OpenAi was founded as a business - see my post on OpenAi for more details and a timeline here : https://samsdataresearch.blogspot.com/2023/11/open-ai.html ).
Founderz isn't a UK based company, they are based in Spain and also shy when it comes to asking about what they really offer !
And BTW it comes with a Ai course badge to show off to your friends, family and to stick it on your CV to say ... "hah!, i've been scammed by the UK government with this fake vanity certificate".
------------------------------------------------
How's It Funded ? Why is it FREE (and says it is, when it isn't) ?
This website from the Government, is funded by UKRI and cost over £4 Million Pounds for development and R&D. Was tax payers money spent well ?
Get your FREE Foundational Ai Skills Boost course badge !
link - the main website : https://aiskillshub.org.uk/
link - funded by the UK RI Innovate UK fund : https://nolimits.ukri.org/opportunity/ai-skills-hub
Funded by : delivered by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) on behalf of the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme
Who are Bridge Ai ?
Yes, this is indeed a fake vanity certificate "badge" from the UK government being offered on this site for any course in Ai that you take. Of course the badge isn't worth anything.
The website states the following -
Courses marked with a badge cover all six AI Foundation Skills for Work, giving you a solid base to build on as you become more confident in using AI. Whichever course you choose, you’ll gain practical skills to start using AI in your workplace in just a few hours. Start your AI learning journey today!
So what skills do YOU need for these courses in Ai offered and paid for by the Uk Governemt with funding from the UKRI ?
The FAQ page found here https://aiskillshub.org.uk/faq/
says..
No! The AI Skills Hub is designed for professionals of all skill levels. Whether you’re a business owner, manager, or worker, we offer tailored resources to help you understand and apply AI in your field.
Therefore, no coding skills required too ! wink.
-----------------------------------------------------
An expert panel of industry, academia, civil society and trade union representatives will support the Unit, providing strategic insight to its work, supporting external collaboration, and enabling the effective delivery of the work programme. Members include :
Owner(s) name
Read it in the UK News:
Next up, reporter James Titcomb at The Telegraph has picked on this too and started digging, he suggests the entire thing was a rushed, vibe-coded hack job (which cost £4.1 million of taxpayers' money).
His investigation reveals -
- courses that seem to be AI-generated scams
- courses that are more than 20 years old
- 'degrees' that cost thousands of pounds yet offer no meaningful qualifications
- courses that don't exist at all
And so much more. This bit killed me: "One course on 'digital agriculture fundamentals' is provided by a Canadian education company and requires applicants to live in the rural provinces of Alberta, Manitoba or Saskatchewan."
Yet the government is digging in, saying the hub is meant to provide "deep and specialist expertise in AI", and that it intentionally includes "some hybrid international options".
To be clear, if one of the AI companies the government so admires had released this product, the person responsible would have been fired within a day.
Euan Blair, Founder and CEO of Multiverse
His investigation reveals -
- courses that seem to be AI-generated scams
- courses that are more than 20 years old
- 'degrees' that cost thousands of pounds yet offer no meaningful qualifications
- courses that don't exist at all
And so much more. This bit killed me: "One course on 'digital agriculture fundamentals' is provided by a Canadian education company and requires applicants to live in the rural provinces of Alberta, Manitoba or Saskatchewan."
Yet the government is digging in, saying the hub is meant to provide "deep and specialist expertise in AI", and that it intentionally includes "some hybrid international options".
To be clear, if one of the AI companies the government so admires had released this product, the person responsible would have been fired within a day.
---------------------------------------
Question : Who is Ewan Blair ? and his Multiverse company ?
Lets look again and scroll down until you find his name on the gov press release
There's this quote:
AI upskilling is the best possible insurance policy against the changes automation will bring, and our best chance to capture the productivity gains. We have to react to this seismic disruption with equivalent ambition, and the ambition here is clear: to make the UK the most AI literate country in the OECD, with skills that benefit employers and empower the workforce.
But who is he ? well...
His Multiverse website is at : https://www.multiverse.io/en-GB
And the following :
- it operates from a WeWork office in London
- it has no employees
- it sells scam employment training to all
- he/company pivoted to Ai in 2021
- the companies LOGO is found on the new government AI Skills Hub website
- oh, and he's the son of Tony Blair MP
----------------------------------------
Who else is on the list ?
Lets look again and scroll down until you find lots of names on the gov press release
- Daniel Susskind (economist at Kings College and Oxford Uni) (not a coder, doesn't know how to code Ai) ( does talks on Ai such as this one from Jan 2026 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtE0trXodXo
- Diane Coyle (economist at Cambridge Uni) (not a coder, doesn't know how to code Ai)
- Abigail Gilbert (IFOW) (not a coder, doesn't know how to code Ai)
- Naomi Weir (CBI) (not a coder, doesn't know how to code Ai)
- Mike Clancy (Prospect Union) (not a coder, doesn't know how to code Ai)
These aren't experts in Ai and have zero background in computing science, technology, design, coding etc
----------------------------------------
In Addition :
Hundreds and Thousands of fake registered companies have Trademarked and registered the words of - Ai - and - Artificial Intelligence - on the .GOV website. Here's an example:
Artificial Intelligence University
Artificial Intelligence Uni Ltd
237b Lower Addiscombe Road, CROYDON, CR0 6RD
Country of Incorporation United Kingdom
Company registration number 14543918
Company House registration : https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14543918
And it's website is here : https://aiu.ac/
Yes this is a SCAM ... one of many offering further Ai courses and Ai uplifting courses.
Why isn't Action Fraud, the Police and the Government closing companies like this down ? it's because right now, they love anything to do with Ai..